Henning, Lawrence, McNeill New Additions to Watch List for The Bowerman

NEW ORLEANS –The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced on Wednesday the second update of the official watch list for The Bowerman as selected by The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee.  LSU’s Walter Henning, Georgia’s Torrin Lawrence, and Northern Arizona’s David McNeill are among the 10 on the official watch list heading into the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The 10 men on the current official watch list have accomplished seven collegiate-leading marks thus far this season. In addition, the group has claimed two collegiate records and two American-leading marks.

The Bowerman Advisory Board appointed four of its members to comprise The Bowerman Men’s Watch Committee and another four of its members to make up The Bowerman Women’s Watch Committee. The committee will release its next update, following the NCAA Indoor Championships, on Wednesday, March 17.

The three men and three women finalists will be named on July 13.

For more information on The Bowerman, the award, the recently-debuted trophy, and Bill Bowerman himself, visit TheBowerman.org. Keep up with Bowerman candidates on the USTFCCCA’s weekly results page (/weekly-results) and by following the organization’s twitter feed twitter.com/TheBowerman.

THE BOWERMAN OFFICIAL WATCH LIST, 2010 MEN

(updated, March 3, 2010, listed in alphabetical order)

Also Receiving Mention

BOWERMAN WATCH LIST PROFILES

Jeshua Anderson, Jr., Washington State,
Hurdles, Woodland Hills, Calif., Taft HS

Anderson notched a 46.38 indoor personal best over 400 meters in earning runner-up honors at the MSPF Championships, a mark that ranks No. 10 in the NCAA this season …Anderson, the 400-meter hurdle standout in the outdoor season, has put together a solid start to the 2010 indoor campaign and has tallied a season best of 8.04 in the short-distance hurdles.

Ronnie Ash, Jr., Oklahoma,
Hurdles, Raleigh, N.C., Knightdale HS/Bethune-Cookman

Ash blazed to a 7.59 collegiate-leading mark in the 60-meter hurdles in winning his first Big 12 Championship last weekend in Ames … Ash’s performance not only helped the Sooners to a Big 12 team title, but it also placed him among the all-time top 10 collegians in the event.

Sam Chelanga, RS Jr., Liberty,
Distance, Nairobi, Kenya, Bartolimo HS/Fairleigh Dickinson

Chelanga picked up two Big South titles this season and helped his squad grab their 13th-straight conference title with runs in the 3000 meters and the DMR … Currently, Chelanga’s 5000-meter time of 13:44.16 ran at the Tyson Invitational ranks No. 2 in the NCAA this year.

Ashton Eaton, Sr., Oregon,
Combined Events, Bend, Ore., Mountain View HS

Eaton topped the collegiate record in the heptathlon at Texas A&M in late January with a 6,256-point performance over the two days and seven events … Eaton is currently the American leader and only trails Russia’s Aleksey Drozdov (6,300) for the 2010 world lead … at the MPSF Championships in Seattle, Eaton claimed scoring positions in the pole vault (fourth) and as a member of the Ducks’ 4×400-meter relay team (second).

German Fernandez, So., Oklahoma State,
Distance, Riverbank, Calif., Riverback HS

Fernandez clocked a 7:51.02 (OT) over 3000 meters at the Husky Invitational for the third-best time run among collegians this season … Fernandez qualified for the Big 12 final of the mile run, but pulled out during the race.

Walter Henning, Jr., LSU,
Throws, Kings Park, N.Y., St. Anthony’s HS/North Carolina

Henning broke the SEC Championship meet record with a 78-1 (23.80m) collegiate-leading toss to win back-to-back SEC crowns in the event … Henning’s toss also places him among the top five collegiate performers all-time in the event … Henning also scored a fifth-place showing with the shot at the SEC meet.

Torrin Lawrence, So., Georgia,
Sprints, Jacksonville, Fla., Andrew Jackson HS

Lawrence has been making headlines all season … The sophomore shocked the country with a 32.32, 300-meter race at the Hokie Invitational for an all-time collegiate best in late January … for an encore, Lawrence ran a collegiate-leading 45.03 at the Tyson Invitational over 400 meters to now rank No. 5 all-time in the world indoors and as the No. 3 collegian all time … Lawrence has also been responsible for splits of 45.00 and 45.04 for the Bulldog 4×400-meter relay team … Lawrence won the SEC 400m title in a meet record of 45.10 to become only the third person in history to run under 45.10 indoors twice (Michael Johnson, Danny Everett).

David McNeill, Sr., Northern Arizona,
Distance, Melbourne, Australia, Xavier College

McNeill claimed two collegiate-leading marks in the distance events on back-to-back weekends … in mid-February, McNeill ran to a 7:47.52 (OT) win over 3000 meters at the Husky Classic in Seattle, marking the best time ever run by a collegian on an oversized track … the following weekend, McNeill claimed an altitude-hindered  14:17.92 clocking over 5000 meters for his second collegiate leader of the season (when converted to 13:39.32) … McNeill also picked up Big Sky titles in the 3000-meter run and the DMR during the indoor season.

Andrew Wheating, Sr., Oregon,
Distance, Norwich, Vt., Kimball Union Academy

Wheating started his season on February 13 with a collegiate-leading 1:46.36 (OT) clocking over 800 meters at the Husky Classic in Seattle … at the MPSF Championships last weekend, Wheating won the mile crown with a 3:58.20 (OT) clocking, that ranks No. 4 in the NCAA,  on that same track in Seattle.

Ryan Whiting, Sr., Arizona State,
Throws, Harrisburg, Pa., Central Dauphin HS

Whiting is the current collegiate leader in the shot put, having thrown 70-7¼ (21.52m) at the Tyson Invitational in February … Whiting is currently No. 3 in the world standings for the 2010 and is the second-best performer in America thus far this season … Whiting finished second at the USATF Indoor Championships in Albuquerque last weekend, earning him a berth on the IAAF Indoor World Championship team … Unfortunately, the world championship conflicts with the NCAA Indoor Championship.